Searchers to launch sub in hunt for black boxes

A ship searching for missing Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 "detected signals consistent with those emitted by aircraft black boxes," an Australian official announced Monday. Further confirmation is required and could take several days.
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Search crews pursuing electronic pings that could be from the missing Malaysian jetliner's black boxes have failed to relocate the sounds heard deep in the Indian Ocean, the head of search operations said during a press conference Tuesday.

Sound locating equipment has picked up no trace of the signals since they were first heard late Saturday and early Sunday, said Angus Houston, who is heading the search off Australia's coast.

During the press conference in Perth, Australia, minister of defense David Johnston said crews would deploy the submersible vessel when they get another ping transmission.

"This is the most positive lead we've had and as I've said, we are pursuing it aggressively," Johnston said.

Warren Truss, Australia's acting prime minister said Tuesday in Perth that searchers were frustrated Monday in trying to re-connect with the underwater signals.

"Today is another critical day as we try and reconnect with the signals that perhaps have been emanating from the black box flight recorder of the MH370," Truss said.

"The connections two days ago were obviously a time of great hope that there had been a significant breakthrough and it was disappointing that we were unable to repeat that experience yesterday."

Truss said the crew on board the Australian ship Ocean Shield will launch the underwater vehicle, the Bluefin 21 unmanned sub, Tuesday. The craft is loaded with equipment that can create a sonar map of the area to chart any debris on the sea floor.

Houston said Monday that the equipment on board the Ocean Shield heard two distinct sounds late Saturday and early Sunday that were consistent with an aircraft's voice and data recorders.

An intense air and sea search was underway in the Indian Ocean, with 14 planes and 14 ships operating in good weather conditions off Australia's western coast, search coordinators said in a statement issued Tuesday morning in Perth.

Efforts were focused on a single search area nearly 30,000 square miles in size, they said.

Houston warned Monday that it could be days before authorities determine whether the signals came from the cockpit voice and data recorders onboard Malyasian Airlines Flight 370, which was lost a month ago after departing Kuala Lumpur for Beijing.

The signal was detected for two hours and 20 minutes late Saturday, then for 13 minutes early Sunday, Australian time. No further findings were reported as of Monday night.

Searchers were pressing to determine the exact position of the signal picked up about 1,000 miles off the coast of Perth, Australia. If they can pinpoint the location, an unmanned miniature submarine can be sent deep into the Indian Ocean to try to identify wreckage and find the two black boxes.

The difficult search for the boxes could lead to changes. The International Air Transport Association, whose members include most of the world's airlines, has created a task force to find ways to ensure that commercial jets are constantly tracked.

"We must never let an aircraft go missing in this way again," IATA director Tony Tyler said Monday at a conference in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. "Cooperative efforts continue on an unprecedented scale to find the aircraft, understand what happened and make sure that it does not happen again."

Authorities hope information obtained from Flight 370's boxes will help explain the mysteries of the Beijing-bound Boeing 777 that disappeared March 8 with 239 people aboard after taking off from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The last, best analysis of data from several sources put the plane somewhere in the southern Indian Ocean.

"Clearly this is a most promising lead, and probably in the search so far, it's probably the best information that we have had,'' Houston said of the signals. "I'm much more optimistic than I was a week ago."

The obstacles are many. The first one is time: The batteries in the boxes that power the signals are only designed to last about 30 days or so.

Then there is the matter of the deep, vast Indian Ocean, a body of water covering more than 25 million square miles with an average depth of more than 2½ miles. The uncertain flight path of the missing jet had pushed the search area to almost 100,000 square miles.

A relative of a passenger abaoard the missing Malaysia Airlines jet displays a photograph of Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak with the words, "Please bring back my husband," on Jan. 29 in Putrajaya. The 239 passengers and crew on the missing airliner have been declared dead and their disappearance on March 8, 2014, was formally declared an accident. (Photo: AFP/Getty Images)

Parents whose son was on the missing airliner demand the Malaysian government continue the search for the Malaysia Airlines flight near the Malaysian Embassy in Beijing. The poster reads, "Malaysia Airlines, return my relative to me." (Photo: Andy Wong, AP)

Jiang Hui, left, and Dai Shuqin, relatives of passengers on the Malaysia Airlines flight, react after watching a pre-recorded message from Malaysia's Civil Aviation Authority on a laptop in Beijing. Malaysian officials declared the crash of Flight 370 an accident.This clears the way for families to seek compensation, as the plane remains missing. (Photo: Andy Wong, AP)

A photograph released on April 15 shows operators aboard the ADF Ocean Shield prepare to launch a U.S. Navy Bluefin-21 robotic submarine to search for the missing Malaysia Airlines jet in the Indian Ocean. (Photo: U.S. Navy MC1 Peter D. Blair via AFP/Getty Images)

Royal New Zealand Air Force Sgt. Trent Wyatt searches for the missing Boeing 777 from a P-3 Orion aircraft on April 11 over the southern Indian Ocean. (Photo: Pool photo by Richard Wainwright AFP/Getty Images)

A Royal Australian Air Force AP-3C Orion aircraft flies over the Australian Defense Force vessel Ocean Shield during a search for the missing Malaysia Airlines jet on April 9 in the southern Indian Ocean. The ship has detected two new underwater signals that may be emanating from the aircraft's black boxes. The Boeing 777 with 239 people on board disappeared on March 8. (Photo: LSIS Bradley Darvill, Australian Defense Force, via AP)

Japanese and Malaysian officials watch the departure of a Japanese Maritime Self Defense Force P3C plane at Subang airbase near Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The plane is flying to Australia to join the search for the missing airliner. (Photo: Ahmad Yusni, epa)

Australian navy Able Seaman Clearance Divers Michael Arnold, left, and Matthew Johnston from the ship ADV Ocean Shield scan the water for debris from the missing jet on April 7 in the southern Indian Ocean. (Photo: Lt. Ryan Davis, AFP/Getty Images)

A Royal Malaysia Air Force C-130 takes off on a search mission for a missing Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777 jet on April 3 from Pearce air force base in Perth, Australia. The airliner with 239 people on board disappeared on March 8 on a flight from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing. (Photo: Pool photo by Rob Griffith)

A crew member aboard a Royal New Zealand Air Force P3 Orion aircraft searches for debris from the missing Malaysia Airlines jet on April 2 over the Indian Ocean northwest of Perth, Australia. The Boeing 777 airliner with 239 people on board disappeared on March 8 on a flight from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing. (Photo: Pool photo by Kim Christian EPA)

Malaysia's civil aviation chief Azharuddin Abdul Rahman, left, speaks to the media after a private meeting with Chinese relatives of the passengers on the missing Malaysia Airlines jet at a hotel in Bangi near Kuala Lumpur. (Photo: Joshua Paul, AP)

People who are related to passengers on the missing flight talk with members of the Malaysia Airlines special assistance team during a meeting at a hotel in Beijing. (Photo: Wang Zhao, AFP/Getty Images)

A picture on a monitor shows a piece of unknown debris spotted by a Royal New Zealand P-3 Orion during a search operation for the missing Malaysia Airlines jet on March 31 in the southern Indian Ocean. The images were sent for analysis to the Rescue Coordination Center and Australian Maritime Safety Authority. (Photo: Pool photo by Rob Griffith)

A relative of a Chinese passenger on the missing jet prays before a briefing with Malaysian officials at a hotel in Beijing. The Boeing 777 disappeared on March 8 on a flight from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing. (Photo: Alexander F. Yuan, AP)

South Korean Navy Lieutenant Commander Oh Kang-Min wears a MH370 search-and-rescue team patch as he waits to meet Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott at an air base in Perth, Australia. (Photo: Pool photo by Jason Reed)

A Royal Australian Air Force ground crewman stands in front of a Royal Malaysian Air Force C-130 Hercules after it landed at RAAF Base Pearce on March 29 to help with the search for the missing Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 in Perth, Australia. (Photo: Rob Griffith, AP)

An Royal Australian Air Force aircraft takes off on a search mission for the missing Malaysia Airlines jet from Pearce Airbase on March 28 in Bullsbrook. Planes and ships raced to a new search zone after investigators suggested the missing Boeing 777 was flying faster than first thought before it plunged into the Indian Ocean. (Photo: Greg Wood, AFP/Getty Images)

Chinese relatives of passengers on the missing Malaysia Airlines fligh pray in a room at the Metro Park Lido Hotel in Beijing. The airliner with 239 people on board disappeared on a flight from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing on March 8. (Photo: Mark Ralston, AFP/Getty Images)

Royal Australian Air Force Flight Lt. Jayson Nichols looks at a map as he flies aboard an AP-3C Orion aircraft during a search operation for the missing Malaysia Airlines jet over the southern Indian Ocean. (Photo: Pool photo by Michael Martina)

A Thaichote satellite image taken on March 24 and released March 27 by the Geo-Informatics and Space Technology Development Agency shows objects floating in the Indian Ocean near the search area for the missing jet. (Photo: GSTDA via AP)

A Malaysian air force general reacts as he answers a question from a relative of a passenger on a missing Malaysia Airlines jet during a meeting at the Metro Park Lido Hotel in Beijing. The relatives were told that they would be brought to the recovery area as the search goes on for wreckage. (Photo: Wang Zhao, AFP/Getty Images)

A satellite from the Malaysian Remote Sensing Agency taken on March 23 shows the location of unknown objects in the southern Indian Ocean off the southwestern coast of Perth, Australia. A Malaysia Airlines jet with 239 people on board disappeared on March 8 on a flight from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing. (Photo: MRSA via Getty Images)

Malaysian Minister of Defense and acting Transport Minister Hishammuddin Hussein shows pictures of possible debris from the missing Malaysia Airlines jet on March 26 at the Putra World Trade Center in Kuala Lumpur. The Boeing 777 with 239 people on board disappeared on March 8 on a flight from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing. (Photo: Mohd Rasfan, AFP/Getty Images)

A family member, right, of passengers aboard a missing Malaysia Airlines plane is comforted by a member of the Special Assistance Team at a hotel in Putrajaya, Malaysia, on March 25. (Photo: Joshua Paul, AP)

High school students attend a vigil for passengers aboard the missing Malaysia Airlines jet in Lianyungang, China. The Boeing 777 airliner disappeared on March 8 on a flight from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing. (Photo: AFP/Getty Images)

A grieving Chinese relative yells at journalists during a protest outside the Malaysian Embassy. Angry relatives of the Chinese passengers aboard the missing Boeing 777 marched to the Malaysian Embassy in Beijing to demand more answers about the crash. (Photo: Mark Ralston, AFP/Getty Images)

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The pings have narrowed the search area considerably, but the math remains daunting.

The Australian navy vessel Ocean Shield picked up the signals using a U.S. Navy device called a towed pinger locator, which is pulled behind the ship at a depth of about 2 miles.

The pinger locator is designed to detect signals at a range of 1 mile, meaning it would need to be almost on top of the black boxes to detect them if they were on the ocean floor.

The Ocean Shield is continuing to comb the ocean, trying to find the signal again.

"We are now in a very well defined search area, which hopefully will eventually yield the information that we need to say that MH370 might have entered the water just here," Houston said.

Adding to the struggle, a Chinese search vessel, Haixun 01, also said it briefly heard signals over the weekend. Those signals, more than 300 miles from the other signals, were being investigated by a British naval vessel, HMS Echo, which also has sophisticated listening technology.

The search for the missing jetliner's black box recorders is continuing in the Indian Ocean, although the latest efforts have faltered. The Bluefin 21 robotic submarine was forced to return from its mission after reaching its maximum depth without any results on April 14. It is expected to be redeployed in shallower areas.